1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a modular panel to make roofs, such as for example the roofs of buildings, or to make walls, such as for example the perimeter walls of such buildings.
In particular, the present invention is preferably applied in the building sector when it is desired to make a closed room or premises, insulated acoustically and/or thermally, possibly having anti-seismic characteristics, and/or inside which considerable consumption of electric and/or heat energy is expected, and it is desired at least partly to use clean and/or alternative and/or renewable energy.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that the need to use alternative and/or renewable energy sources, to integrate traditional energy production sources, is commonly felt, in particular due to the increasingly greater attention given to reducing atmospheric pollution caused by using said traditional energy production sources, and also to render the exploitation thereof less intensive, since there is only a finite supply.
In this context, solutions are known which provide to install, on the roofs of building structures, additional structures such as, for example, solar or photovoltaic cells or panels, able to exploit the radiant energy of the sun so as to generate respectively thermal or electric energy.
By building structures, here and hereafter in the description, we mean houses, public buildings, car parks and more generally any closed building requiring filling and/or heating and/or conditioning and/or any form of thermo-acoustic insulation from the outside environment and/or requiring a production of thermal and/or photovoltaic energy, or more generally any form of alternative and/or renewable energy.
In known solutions, the roof of the building normally consists of covering elements, such as for example tiles, pantiles or panels, which need to be supported by support structures comprising, for example, beams and purlins. This has a negative effect on the times and costs of making the roofs, which are high, and also on the complexity of constructing the roof.
Another disadvantage of known solutions is the lack of connection elements between the covering elements of the roofs and/or the use of materials with poor capacity of absorbing elastic energy, which leads to poor anti-seismic characteristics, which must possibly be obtained with additional devices and structures.
Another disadvantage is that known panels, designed exclusively to recover and transform solar radiation into thermal or photovoltaic energy and integrating roofs, are extremely bulky, have a negative visual impact, low aesthetic level and adapt very poorly to building structures from an aesthetic point of view. Moreover, they cause a negative environmental impact that may prevent them being used in zones that are restricted by laws on environmental protection.
Another disadvantage is that, in the case of vault-type roofs, it is difficult to integrate additional structures to exploit radiant energy, since mounting such structures on curved surfaces is more complex, as it is necessary to guarantee at least the same stability they enjoy when mounted on flat surfaces.
Sound-absorbent and/or sound-insulating covering panels are also known for roofs or walls, which are positioned on suitably disposed supporting beams, but they have the disadvantage that they are complex to assemble.
One purpose of the present invention is to achieve structural panels for roofs and walls able to incorporate means to exploit alternative and/or renewable energy, at the same time obtaining a reduction in manufacturing times and costs, also facilitating the assembly thereof, reducing to a minimum the supporting elements or structures.
Another purpose of the present invention is to integrate into the panels, and consequently into the roofs, at least the functions of thermal solar energy and/or photovoltaic energy.
Another purpose of the present invention is to supply alternative and/or renewable energy without additional costs beyond those of the roofs themselves, exploiting scale economies.
Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve panels that constitute self-supporting structural construction elements for buildings, thus improving the anti-seismic characteristics of the structural stability of the roofs and walls obtained.
Another purpose of the present invention is to reduce to a minimum the complexity and impact of the systems intended for energy recovery, while still guaranteeing conditions of great efficiency.
Another purpose is to obtain an optimum visual and aesthetic effect.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.